Direct-reading pressure-difference indicator



H. B. LEE

DIRECT READING PRESSURE DIFFERENCE INDICATOR Original Filed March '13, 1.920 2 Shee1.s.-S^.'ee1v l July 1 1924. 1,499,384 H. B. LEE

DIRECT READING PRESSURE DIFFERENCEVINDICATOR Original Filed March l5, 1920 2 Sheets-Sneek 2 Patented July l, 192.34.

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PATENT; OFFICE.

HENRY B. .Lnnor NEW LONDON, OONNEOTICUI", iissIGNOR fro A'rHE/DJ E. W'rrroN MACHINE Oo., orNnw LONDON, OONNEOTIOUT,'A CORPORATION.

nIREc'rLaEAniNG ranssURn-nirrlnnnNon INDICATOR.

Appiieaaonniea March is, i920, serial Naseafevo.. Renewed November 27,1923.

To all 107mm t may concern Y, l

Be it known that I, HENRY B. LEE, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at New London, in the county of New London and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in DirectfReading Pressure-Difference Indicators; and ,I do

hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the characters of reference `marked thereon, to be a full, clear, andk exact descr'iption of the same, and which said draw-y F ig. 3, a detached view in inside end ele-i vation of the indicator. ,f

Fig. 4t, a detached'view of the tapering oil-chamber of theindicator.

Fig.' 5, a plan viewtliei'eof. Fig. 6, a detached view ofthepointer. Fig. 7, a detached perspective view f the reciprocating prime-mover of the indicator.

Fig. 8, a view in verticallongitudinal section of one of the modifiedforms which my y n the` plunger from being embedded, however improvement may assume.

My invention relates to an `improved direct-reading pressure-difference indicatory for use in visualizing without calculation,

' fthe difference at any moment between the feed-.water .pressure and the steam pressure ofasteam boilerfsystem, theobject being jto provide a simple, convenient, and reliable apparatus for this purpose.` n y With these ends in view, my invention consists in a direct-reading pressure-difference indicator having certain details of c0115l struction as will 'be `hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims. y

For the illustration of -my invention,` Iv have shown it inFigures 1 tof7l inclusive, ask

applied to the followlup pressurelregulator of afsteamsturbine of the type used in turbopump installations, thoughmy invention is not so limited. y

In carrying out my inventiony as herein showml mount a vase-shaped or flaring oilchamber 2 by itsl sleeve 5f?V in the reciprocat-` a'ble' Operatinghead 3 'of a follow-up ,pres/- sure-regulator 4 Aof approved construction,

whereby the said chamber Zis `carried bodily by the head 3 and partakes of therecip-.iy rocating movement thereof. At its flaring. upper end, the said oil-chamber 2 isbridged by a segmentalr index-plate 5 having gradu-y ations findicating, pounds of pressureand swept by a cross-piece at the upper end of any oscillatable 'indicator or pointer 7 which is actuated by means of aprime-mover in the` form of a plunger Shaving free movement in the relatively ,large axial passage9 of the head. l l; y f

The saidkplunger 8` is moved longitudi-y nally in the said passage by the endwise pressure exerted uponits respective ends by the diaphragme 10 and 11 of the followiip pressurevregulator, the said head 3 be-y ing.y suspended.' by and ybetweenthe saidl diaphragme of which the diaphragm 10 constitutes the'innei' wall ofthe water-.pressurev chamber 12 and of'which the diaphragm 11 forms the inner wall of the steam-pressure chamber 13. yThe chamber 12 is connected line of the system, while` the chamber lfis connected by the small pipe 15` ywith the steani-serviceliiie thereof.l .j

Interposed between the ends of the plunger` 8 and thel diaphragme 10 and' 11, are thin metallic disks 16 which prevent the ends of slightly, inthe softer material'of thev di-l aphragms 10 and 11, the vendsof the head 3 by asmallpipele with the. boiler feed-.water Y being formediwith annularclearance-chambers 17 concentricwith its axialpassage 9fso asto permitthe disks 16 to freelyyield to inward pressures againstthem. n A, t ,For `the actua-tion; of thepointer 1,7 by means of the `plunger 8, the saniejflisfforined with a vertically arranged transverse slot 'p18V (Figure 7) through which the lower portion ofthe pointer passesydownward to permit itsknuckledike fulcrum end 19 L,to enter aj socket orbearing recessQO leading outl ,ofl the bottom ofthe axial passage 9` in the head 3, whereby the'pointer is actually fulcrumedy in the head 3 with which it bodily moves,as doesalso the flaring oil-chamber2, as stated. For lthe Lactuation ofthe` pointerv by they s `plunger 8, the pointer is formed justabove its y.knuckle 19 ywith a substantially..circular `bearing 21, the laterally opposite high points oi`,which engage Vwith the vertical side-.walls` ofthe slot 18, whereby vend'yvise movement5 of the plunger 8 causes the pointer to be tion.

swung correspondingly upon its fulcrum end 19. This movement of the plunger, though very slight, is greatly magnified at the upper end of the pointer.

A body of oil 22 located in the chamber 2 extends downward into the head 3 in whichV it is confined by the metal disks 16. The plunger 8 is thus virtually floated in oil, whereby it is made exceedingly sensitive, while the pointer 7 `is so far immersed in oil that it is prevented from undue vibra- The disturbing influences of the pump-impulses are thus eliminated from the pointer.

1t will be apparent from the foregoing that differences in the pre-.determined variation between the feed-water pressure and the steam pressure will be at once transformed by the movement of the diaphragms 10 and 11, into endwise movement of the plunger 8 which, acting as a prime-mover, will operate the pointer 7 which will, therefore, indicate the difference between the boiler feed-water pressure and the steam pressure at any given moment. This difference will be indicated as a matter of direct-reading upon the scale and without any mental calculation on the part of the observer; whereas, heretofore, the observer has been obliged to consult two separate indicators and subtract the indication of one from the indication of the other in order to ascertain the excess pressure existingV at the moment. The old method has the further objection that it is open to errors in two instruments instead of one.

To provide for the operation of the plunger 8 bythe diaphragms 10 and 11, their central portions must be exposed to'the full action of the pressures in the chambers 12 and 13. Thus, the retaining-washer 23 of the diaphragm is formed with a relatively large central opening 23a, while the retaining-washer 24 of the diaphragm 11 is formed with a concentric sleeve 25 which provides for the exposure of the central portion of the diaphragm 11 as well as a means for supporting the inner end of the helical spring 26 provided for maintaining the boiler feed-water pressure in excess of' the steam pressure. The outer end of the spring 26 receives a flanged seat 27 counter-sun for the reception of the innerl end of an adjusting-screw 28 by means of which the follow-up regulator is adjusted, as fully described in my (3o-pending application, filed lMay 14th, 1918, Serial Number 234,466.

-l/Vhile forming lno part of my present invention, it may be explained that the followup pressure-regulator 4 is provided with a regulator-lever 29 operated by the head 3 and co-acting with the extension 30 of a controller-lever 31 also acted upon by the' spindlev 32 of an emergency-governor, indicated by the numeral 33. The lower end of the lever 31 is connectedwith the stem 34 of the valve of a steam-control valve located within the casingV of a motor-controller, indicated by the reference numeral 35, as seen in Figure 1, whichl also shows a turbine 36 having bearings 37 and one member 38 of a flange-coupling.

As shown in Figure 1 to 7 inclusive, my improvement is designed with particular reference to being'incorporated in the follow up pressure-regulator of a steam-turbine. Its use, however, is not so limited, as it is equally applicable for use by itself as an independent organization, and is so shown in Figure 8, in which the oil-chamber 2, indexplate 5, indicator 7, and'plunger 8 are identical with the corresponding parts already described. In this construction, the vaselike oil-chamber 2 has its sleeve 5? set into a spacing-member 39 instead of into a 'diaphragm head 3, as in the other construction, the said spacing-member being interposed between and supported by heads V40 and 41 bolted together by bolts 42. The head 40 contains a feed-water pressure chamber 43 connected by a pipe 44 with a boiler feedwater line, while the head 41 is formed with a steam-pressure chamber 45 connected by aypipe 46 with the steam service pipe of the boiler system. The respective ends of the plunger 8 impinge against diaphragms 47 and 48 interposed between the respective ends of the spacing-block 39 and the inner faces of the heads 40 and 41, whereby the said diaphragms respond to pressures in the chambers 43 and 45 for the movement of the plunger in one direction or the other, according to the variations of feed-water and steam pressures in the boiler system. The movement of the plunger 8 positively sweeps the indicator over the graduated scale on the index-plate 5 and by direct reading indicates the difference of pressure between the boiler feed-water pressure and the steam pressure, without recourse to any calculation on the part of the observer. The apparatus shown by Figure 8 is well adapted to be set up in the office of the chief engineer along with other gauges and instruments commonly found in such places.

1 claim:

1. A direct-reading pressure-difference indicator having a graduated scale, an oilchamber, an indicator moving in a body of oil in the said oil-chamber, whereby the operation of the indicator is stabilized and a prime-mover simultaneously subjected to the opposing pressures whose difference is to be indicated, the said prime-mover being connected with the indicator for the operation thereof. 4

2. A direct-reading pressure-difference indicator having an oil-chamber, a graduated scale carried thereby, an indicator passing throughv the said chamber and stabilized by a body of oil therein, a reciprocatable primemover engaging with the indicator for operating the same, a diaphragm-head in which the prime-mover is located, and diaphragms by which the said head is Suspended and which are operated by the pressures the difference of which is to be indicated, the said diaphragms acting upon the ends of the prime-mover for that purpose.

3. A direct-reading pressure-difference indicator having a reciproca-table operatinghead, a graduated scale carried thereby and pai-taking of the movement thereof, a reciprocatable prime-mover mounted in the said head and formed midway of its length with a vertical passage, an indicator coacting at its upper end with the said scale and at its lower end passing downward through the said passage into the said head in which it is fulcrumed, and means for simultaneously subjecting the prime-mover `to the ,0pposed action of the pressures the difference of which is to be indicated by the indicator. Y 4. A direct-reading pressure-difference indicator having a graduated scale,-an oscillatable indicator fulcrumed at its lower end, a reciprocating prime-mover through which the ulcrum end of the indicator passes for its operation thereby, and means for simultaneously subjecting the prime-mover to the the said prime-mover to the opposed action*` of the feed-water pressure and steam pressure of the follow-upk pressure regulator.

6. The combination with the reciprocatable operating-head of a follow-up pressure-regulator, of diaphragms by means of which the said head is suspended, means for simultaneously subjecting the diaphragms to the feed-water and steam pressures of the reg- 1 ulator, and a direct-reading pressure indicator carriedbythe said head for bodily movement therewith and comprising a graduated scale, a reciprocatable prime-mover coaxially mounted within the said head fory ysimultaneous subjection to the action of the respective diaphragme of the regulator; and an indicator oscillated by the said prime-mover and means interposed between the said diaphragms and the ends of the prime-mover for preventing the same from being embedded at its ends therein.

7. A direct-reading pressure-difference indicator having a reciprocatable operatinghead, an oil-chamber carried thereby, a

graduated scale, a reciprocatable prime-.

mover located co-aXially within the said head in an axial passage therein connecting with the said oil-chamber, whereby the prime-mover is virtually floated in oil, an indicator ulcrumed iny the said head, connected with the saidprime-mover and passing through the oil in the said oil-chamber,

and means for simultaneouslysubjecting they i ends of the said prime-mover to the opposedl action of the pressures the difference of which is to be indicated by the indicator.

yso

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specication in the presence of two suby scribing witnesses.

HENRY B. LEE.

Witnesses: i "l i EDWARD P. EGGLnsToN,

M. J; CHANDLER. 

